Executive Transactions

The USOC has hired Ari Fleischer Sports Communications President ARI FLEISCHER as a communications consultant. Fleischer "will not be a spokesman for the organization but will counsel it on communications issues and support the USOC in its search" for a new Chief Communications Officer to replace DARRYL SEIBEL. The USOC also has hired a search firm to help replace Seibel, who is due to leave June 1 (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/25 issue). Meanwhile, MLB did not renew its contract with Fleischer this year. MLB President & COO BOB DUPUY: "We appreciate the work he has done for us, but have fewer Washington issues, so we decided to step back" (THE DAILY).

GIANT DEPARTURE: MLB Giants Enterprises President PAT GALLAGHER will leave the organization on June 30 to pursue other opportunities. Gallagher, who joined the team in '76, served as Senior VP/Business Operations for more than 20 years, where he oversaw various aspects of the non-baseball business for the club. Gallagher also played a lead role in the development of AT&T Park. Gallagher assumed his current role in ’00 (Giants). In S.F., Henry Schulman writes Gallagher was the “brains behind the Croix de Candlestick pins and Crazy Crab mascot” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/27).

SEDAN PARKING: Universal Sports, NBC and Intermedia Partner's Olympic and amateur sports channel, has hired Sedan Communications to handle its PR. GREG HUGHES and AMY SORRELLS will be the primary consultants for the upstart TV channel. Hughes spent more than 19 years with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and Sorrells spent four years at Fox Cable Network before becoming an independent communications consultant (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS: The Penguins officially named DAVID PEART VP/Business Partnerships. Peart most recently served as 49ers VP/Sales & Marketing from '04-08, after previously serving as Texans VP/Business Development and MLB Rangers and Stars Assistant VP/Sponsorship Sales (Penguins). Meanwhile, the Penguins promoted Dir of Hockey Administration JASON BOTTERILL to Assistant GM following the Wild naming former Assistant GM CHUCKFLETCHER as GM (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/23).